Humor me with a baby naming question

[plain jane]

Let's say that dh and I felt very convicted in giving all of our kids Biblical names that are all meaningful to us in one way or another. The names are all obvious that they are Biblical, especially when all heard together (which I admit isn't all that often) and it's also a family tradition that goes way back so it's not something we are willing to "break".

 

But, after 5 names that we think go very well together ;) there is one name that we absolutely LOVE that isn't Biblical and would be a sort of "black sheep" if you would. :tongue_smilie: What would one do?

 

I'm thinking of giving our next child (should there be a next one LOL) a Biblical first name that goes with the rest of the family but then giving them the name we love and calling that child by that name.

 

So, let's say we love the name Tyson (not the name). We would name our next son something like Noah Tyson but we would always call him Tyson.

 

Is this really weird? Would people just wonder why we didn't name him Tyson in the first place? How would it work for legal documents like school registration papers?

 

Has anybody been in a similiar situation and are willing to share what they did? Are dh and I being silly and should we just go with the name we love, regardless that it really doesn't fit with the rest of the names? I have visions of this child feeling "left out" in a way since everyone else has a Biblical name, kwim? In terms of sound and flow it has the same "feel" as the rest of our names but it is obviously different, if that makes any sense.

 

Of course, this is totally theoretical since I'm not pregnant and of course, what are the odds we'll actually end up with a boy, right? :lol:

[kfeusse]

there are only 3 kids in the family I grew up in and my 2 brothers have Biblical names (Jonathan and Matthew) and I don't (Kathryn---I go by Kathy). I have never felt left out. My brothers also have a family name as their middle names....I don't...again...not a big deal to me.

[Happy]

My best friend did an odd name for her third child. Her first two had matching initials (A.C.B) but they couldn't come up with an acceptable A name for the third. His name is perfectly respectable and starts with a J. He turned out fine. He kinda likes having the odd name in the clan.

 

I'm still amused by it though. One of the A names they had considered was Austin. Mr. J. this summer married a young lady named Dallas. If only, they HAD named him Austin....imagine the children's names--Houston, Abilene, Marfa, etc. The possiblities are endless.... :D

 

Go with your heart. Tell the story of his name often. He will love it.

[plain jane]

My best friend did an odd name for her third child. Her first two had matching initials (A.C.B) but they couldn't come up with an acceptable A name for the third. His name is perfectly respectable and starts with a J. He turned out fine. He kinda likes having the odd name in the clan.

 

I'm still amused by it though. One of the A names they had considered was Austin. Mr. J. this summer married a young lady named Dallas. If only, they HAD named him Austin....imagine the children's names--Houston, Abilene, Marfa, etc. The possiblities are endless.... :D

 

Go with your heart. Tell the story of his name often. He will love it.

 

The bolded is the part that gets me. There would be no story with his name other than dh and I REALLY like it (and have for years).

 

The other kids, OTOH, all DO have stories behind their names. :lol:

 

Your story cracked me up BTW. Funny!

[Sara in AZ]

Our four all have Biblical names, more because we liked the name than for any other reason, and I have wondered if we'd be willing to branch out now that we've established this pattern. (Should we ever have another, of course.) I'm not sure.

 

But I will tell you that our oldest is named Sarah Elizabeth after one of her great, great grandmothers. My name happens to be Sara, so we call her by her middle name. I don't regret her name choice, but it does cause confusion, especially when it comes to insurance and prescriptions. That's more my problem, though.

 

She faces confusion whenever we go to a new doctor. Some are great, but some don't bother to read in the charts where I have specifically asked that she go by her middle name. For example, her endocrinologist who she sees every three months still calls her by her first name. At this point we just go with it. Also, she attended a weekly public school enrichment program for homeschoolers last year. She's pretty shy, and I found out mid year that all her teachers had been calling her by her first name all year and she had never corrected them.

 

Otherwise, it is not a problem legally. She's gotten used to answering to her first name, and all our close family and friends have never had a problem forgetting. :-)

[IsabelC]

It goes without saying that this is totally up to you, and you don't need to consult anybody else except your husband. But if it were me, I would not have an obvious pattern for five kids and then change it for the sixth baby.

[Pamela H in Texas]

Well, we named ours the name we wanted as middle names (first names are the names birth family named them). I kinda wish we hadn't done it that way. EVERYONE has to be corrected about the name to call them.

 

Also, in your case, you're still gonna say,"Jacob, Isaiah, josiah, Benjamin, and Tyson." so it will be different then too.

 

And my daughter would tell you to name a kid what you want to not worrying about "rules" as she wishes I had named her what I had wanted to.

[MariannNOVA]

The bolded is the part that gets me. There would be no story with his name other than dh and I REALLY like it (and have for years).

 

The other kids, OTOH, all DO have stories behind their names. :lol:

 

Your story cracked me up BTW. Funny!

 

in red, then that is your story. go with the name you love!:)

[5wolfcubs]

These are the origin's of my children's First -- Middle names:

 

Feminine of Biblical -- Hebrew

Latin -- Scottish of Biblical

Biblical -- Hebrew

Biblical -- Biblical

Scottish of Biblical -- Biblical

Elvish -- Elvish

 

Biblical means in the Bible, Hebrew means not mentioned or very minor mention in the Bible.

 

Originally (pre-kid) we wanted to name them all Biblical or Hebrew names. But as another poster phrased it, we branched out! Simply because dh said one night, "Let's have another baby girl and name her Cirith!" And 9 months later, we did. :)

 

Should the opportunity arise...or is that arrive?...go with what you love!

[LaxMom]

I don't really see anything wrong with sticking with the family naming convention and using a middle name as what a child is normally called. People give their children family names all the time and call them by a middle.

 

Obviously, it is parental choice what to name/call their children. I just don't see that it's particularly uncommon to do it that way to uphold tradition and call your kid what you want.

[happypamama]

It goes without saying that this is totally up to you, and you don't need to consult anybody else except your husband. But if it were me, I would not have an obvious pattern for five kids and then change it for the sixth baby.

 

Yes, this. My sister is the only one of the four of us kids who doesn't have a Biblical name, and she has always felt a bit left out. (Her middle name is a Biblical one, but so are the rest of our middle names.)

 

I resolved not to do that to my own children, which is why we can never have another boy, LOL, because the pool of choices is too small. (Very long story.)

[Dory]

Two of my five brothers were always called by their middle names. Now that they are adults, the people at their work places call them by their first names but we all have always called them by their middles names. My mom named them that way because it sounded better together in that order, but then called them by her favorite. We never thought much about it all. No one in the extended family said much about it that I remember. They might have when my parents first named them, but it was one of those things that people just leave and move on with life.

[Word Nerd]

I think people get carried away with naming conventions like that. All of my cousins had initials TNS, and then two of them did the same thing and all their kids had the same initials as the first. I don't get it, personally. It was almost as if they didn't think it was an option to name your child the name you like best, regardless of the "pattern" started with the first. Then again, my parents chose the names they liked best for my sisters and me just like I did, so I suppose I'm carrying on the family tradition after all. ;)

Edited September 8, 2012 by WordGirl

[Word Nerd]

in red, then that is your story. go with the name you love!:)

 

:iagree:

[plain jane]

I think people get carried away with naming conventions like that. All of my cousins had initials TNS, and then two of them did the same thing and all their kids had the same initials as the first. I don't get it, personally. It was almost as if they didn't think it was an option to name your child the name you like best, regardless of the "pattern" started with the first.

 

Thing is, it's not really just a "pattern" to us. It's something that's in one of our families for generations and is really important to us for reasons I won't get into on a public forum. :) Also, we didn't choose their names because they were Biblical, the names also have various levels of meaning to us. We didn't just name the kids because the name is in the Bible.

 

I understand what you are saying. I'm torn because I hate being stuck in a "pattern" too but then there's my OCD side of things. :p It's the OCD side that makes me wonder if I'll regret breaking the "pattern". Or worse... need to have more kids after that don't fit the pattern just so #6 won't be left out. :w00t: :lol:

[BigMamaBird]

We call our first son by this middle name, I have a friend who went by his middle name. It's not that unusual. Give him a name you love.

[Dory]

I thought I'd add that I wanted all my kids to have names that meant something and that could be tied to scripture. The name I wanted for my youngest sounded too much like our last name though and I didn't want him to sound like he had a stuttering problem every time he said his name. I looked for different versions of the name. In other words, instead of the Hebrew version of his name or the English version, I chose the Norwegian version. It means the same thing, it comes from the same root, but it's a little different in sound and feel. I had a couple people raise their eyebrows that his name sounded too short compared to the other two kids and I just said that I chose a name that I felt best suited my child and what I wished for him to be in his future.

[airforcefamily]

I have a family member who always went by his middle name, he even signed his name 'first initial' 'middle name' 'last name'. Like J. Edgar Hoover.

 

I can't recommend doing this though. After four kids with saint's names we gave the fifth a non saint name. I was so upset over it, it didn't feel right, we changed it at two days old and it was a major hassle. The name fits great and I'm glad we did it but it was a pain, was expensive, and her birth certificate will always say 'amended' which irks me. I thought for a day or so that we would just use the middle name, which I liked as a first name and DH did not but realized it would be a hassle for her whole life.

[razorbackmama]

We call our oldest son by his middle name. He is a third, and we didn't really like any of the alternative names for what his first name is. (Truth be told, it's not a name I would have chosen ever, but the pressure was on for a third since my husband is a junior, and I had no backbone back then so there ya go.)

 

It's not a problem at all. Probably the only thing that gets confusing is when he's supposed to initial something - he's not sure what to put. But that's also him...he's not very intuitive and often assumes the wrong things about a situation. So when he sees "initial here" he thinks he's supposed to put all 3 initials plus an III.:tongue_smilie:

 

I DO regret naming him a third, however. He, my husband, and my father-in-law (who lives in another state!) are always getting things confused. My husband gets my fil's AARP mail. I'm sure it's going to be an issue whenever my son is an adult.

 

In YOUR situation, I'd totally go with your regular Biblical first name and then call him by his middle name.:D

[Lolly]

One of my girls goes by her middle name. I really don't recommend it. Problems come up with doctors and insurance way too often.:glare:

[amy g.]

No, I would not give one child a name that is noticeably different from his siblings.

 

PLEASE do not call your child by there middle name. My mother did that to all of us, and it is a logistical nightmare.

 

There are enough names in the world to find one that fits with the other names and can be used as a first name.

 

Keep looking.

 

Use the other name you love for a pet or something.

[BamaTanya]

No, I would not give one child a name that is noticeably different from his siblings.

 

PLEASE do not call your child by there middle name. My mother did that to all of us, and it is a logistical nightmare.

 

There are enough names in the world to find one that fits with the other names and can be used as a first name.

 

Keep looking.

 

Use the other name you love for a pet or something.

 

:iagree:

 

I would keep looking for a name for this new blessing.

 

My dh goes by his middle name and we had ANOTHER issue come up when trying to buy a cell phone yesterday. It complicates bills and statements and school records. And prescriptions and dr records. Most of our bills are in dh's name and when I call to question or change or pay anything, I have trouble remembering which name is on the account.

 

Unless I were having twins or planning several more, I wouldn't.

[Carrie12345]

We broke our pattern with #5. It isn't terribly obvious most of the time, but it irks me. We just didn't like anything that fit!

 

(All of the kids have 2-syllable names except for the caboose, with 3 syllables. Ba dum, ba dum, ba dum, ba dum, and ba dum bump. lol)

 

I've known just a few people who have gone by their middle names. Day to day, it's no big deal, but it's a real pain with documents and professional introductions.

[Rebecca]

We did break the mold with our twins.

 

We did it for reasons and we had planned all along to name our next girl (if we were blessed with one) after a very, very special family member- but it is not a biblical name and all of our other children do have biblical names.

 

We did choose biblical names for spiritual reasons and the non- biblical name is also for a spiritual reason-

 

However, I will say, it still feels odd- to have broken the mold that way.

I have found girl names way harder for me with biblcal names, though.

 

Anyway- basically both of our twins have non-biblical names although twin b's IS actually biblical just not in the same vein as the others. The twin thing, two girls, etc... there was just a lot to consider.

 

So- all that to say- I don't know if I would recommend it... but I would also do what you feel in your heart. It needs to be what it is meant to be and my little girl(twin a) fits her name perfectly.

 

For perspective- we had six children before the twins. So six with biblical names.

 

Food for thought, I hope.

 

Rebecca

[Rebecca]

P.S.

 

I would name the baby/child what you really want to name him/her. If you love it so much to call her by it all the time- that should be her name.

 

That is my humble opinion!

[bolt.]

I'm thinking that so many things, words and meanings are "in the Bible" that it shouldn't be hard to say (not an accurate example) "Tyson means 'man of strength' our Tyson is named for Psalms xyz that says 'God blesses the faithful with strength'." That makes it a Biblical name, just a name that refers to a verse, rather than a person.

[Trish]

I don't see any reason NOT to break up the arbitrary rule/pattern in favor of a name you love. And I do think it would be better/easier for the child to have the loved name BE the first name, rather than go with the built-in confusion of having it be the middle name. He can be a new saint for the era we're living in. If Moses had been just another Abraham, we'd have more than a little Biblical confusion. Kids don't care if their names fit some preconceived cutesy pattern, they just want to like and be comfortable with the name.

[KungFuPanda]

I'd say the scenerio you describe happens all the time and is nothing to stress about. My grandmother has gone by her middle name her whole life. I really don't think it's a big deal. It's certainly much less of a hassle than giving the child no middle name at all. Now THAT is a legitimate paperwork snagger.

 

This is coming from the woman who gave her children first and middle names but ended up using nicknames most of the time.

[razorbackmama]

I'd say the scenerio you describe happens all the time and is nothing to stress about. My grandmother has gone by her middle name her whole life. I really don't think it's a big deal. It's certainly much less of a hassle than giving the child no middle name at all. Now THAT is a legitimate paperwork snagger.

I can see that! Or 2 middle names...I've always wondered which one people put as their middle initial LOL!

 

We've never had trouble with doctors, insurance, etc. Anything "official" like that uses my son's first name. The only time it caused confusion was before he was old enough to realize that when they called his first name, they meant HIM. LOL

[stephanie]

Let's say that dh and I felt very convicted in giving all of our kids Biblical names that are all meaningful to us in one way or another. The names are all obvious that they are Biblical, especially when all heard together (which I admit isn't all that often) and it's also a family tradition that goes way back so it's not something we are willing to "break".

 

But, after 5 names that we think go very well together ;) there is one name that we absolutely LOVE that isn't Biblical and would be a sort of "black sheep" if you would. :tongue_smilie: What would one do?

 

I'm thinking of giving our next child (should there be a next one LOL) a Biblical first name that goes with the rest of the family but then giving them the name we love and calling that child by that name.

 

So, let's say we love the name Tyson (not the name). We would name our next son something like Noah Tyson but we would always call him Tyson.

 

Is this really weird? Would people just wonder why we didn't name him Tyson in the first place? How would it work for legal documents like school registration papers?

 

Has anybody been in a similiar situation and are willing to share what they did? Are dh and I being silly and should we just go with the name we love, regardless that it really doesn't fit with the rest of the names? I have visions of this child feeling "left out" in a way since everyone else has a Biblical name, kwim? In terms of sound and flow it has the same "feel" as the rest of our names but it is obviously different, if that makes any sense.

 

Of course, this is totally theoretical since I'm not pregnant and of course, what are the odds we'll actually end up with a boy, right? :lol:

 

:D

IF HE were in school then he would always initially be called by his first name... Until he corrected it with his teacher/friends. On the roster it usually shows last name then first name. I know this because I used to go by my middle name in school, then later decided to go by my first. :tongue_smilie: That's what's fun about having extra names.

 

i dont think it's weird at all, though. It may be a pain for your ds( if it was a ds :tongue_smilie::tongue_smilie:) having to correct the teacher or friends.

 

And btw....I LOVE the name Noah. If i had another boy that's what I would name him.

[KungFuPanda]

If you're homeschooling, the school roster is a non-issue for a looooooong time. :D

[SonshineLearner]

My dad has gone by his middle name since gradeschool. It was and is a hassle. It's such a pain and he's always explaining. I wouldn't suggest it :(

[VeritasMama]

My dh goes by his middle name, he shares a first name with his father. I agree, it is a hassle. I suggested doing it with our oldest, dh wanted him to have the same first name as he does which I'm not crazy about, but my dh absolutely refused to have a child go by their middle name.

 

My 3 sisters and I all had the same initials. If your kids names were that similiar, I think it would be odd to have one be different, but I see no problem with having biblical and non-biblical names in the same family. My kids have either old fashioned names or pretty typical, boring names, I just tried to make sure they all sounded like they could be in the same family, lol. In other words, I wouldn't name one of my children Jim Bob and then name my next child Zander, they are so different in terms of conotations and culture.

[Kathryn]

Name your child what you want to name them. Don't be a slave to a pattern that you established. If you want to do the middle name thing, do it. There are many people who go by a middle name or a nickname and get through life just fine!

[Desert Rat]

My brother goes by his middle name. My friend's son is also called by his middle name. The only time it was an issue was during school. My brother had a terrible teacher once that refused to call him by the name he answered to. That was the least of the problems with that teacher. LOL

[busymama7]

My oldest goes by his middle name as his first is the same as his father. It has never been an issue or big deal at all. Granted he is not in school but he did go to K and it wasn't a problem then either. They just made a note of it at the Drs and its fine. I hear of people thinking its a nightmare but it just never has been for us.

 

On the other hand, I have a nephew with the same first name as his father and THAT is a pain ;)